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Sunday, September 4, 2011

SugarCRM 101: Non-Commercial vs. Commercial Hosting

It has been a while since I have taken up a subject relating to furthering our understanding of the SugarCRM ecosystem. However, recent conversations I have had have highlighted the need to clarify an important aspect relating to the various editions of SugarCRM that are available on the market and the ability to use the SugarCRM data center (known as Sugar On-Demand) to host them.

First, we need to understand that there are various editions of SugarCRM available, including Community, Professional and Enterprise, and others that have recently been introduced. The primary differences between them relate to the breadth of functionality each edition offers and the fact that of all the editions, the Community Edition version is the only one that is completely free. Thus, we can say that Community Edition represents the non-commercial branch of the SugarCRM product family, while all other editions represent the commercial side of it.

Now, the other important difference to note between the non-commercial and commercial flavors relates to the ability to use the On-Demand platform to host your installation of SugarCRM.

Here is a summary of the rules:

Only those customers purchasing a subscription corresponding with a commercial edition of SugarCRM have the ability to use the Sugar On-Demand platform for their hosting needs. This does not mean that one must use it, only that it is an option available to said customers.

Those same customers may further opt to install their commercial edition on their own server (or a private cloud/hosting provider), either starting on day one of their subscription, or anytime thereafter.

Sidenote: obtaining a copy of the data and installation residing on the On-Demand servers is a simple matter of submitting a Support Ticket using your sugarcrm.com account and requesting the files be provided.

Coincidentally, it is also possible to do the reverse, start your use of it with it installed on your own server/private cloud/hosting provider and then move it to the On-Demand platform, so long as the subscription is active. Note that charges for professional services may be incurred, depending on the work required to move the installation back to the On-Demand platform.

Users of Community Edition (i.e. non-commercial customers) do not have the option of using the On-Demand platform. These customers must either install it on their own server or a private cloud/hosting provider.